The Off-Season Traveler

Iceland in January.Egypt in May.South Africa in June.The south of France in August.

What do these locales have in common? I have visited each of them during the least popular times of the year -- times when residents are just living their lives and throngs of tourists are not yet in place.

If you're like me, you'd rather not stand in line for hours to get a glimpse of the Mona Lisa and you'd prefer getting individualized attention at a restaurant because you're the only one dining. It's possible some museums aren't open or that sites have limited hours during off-peak times, but the benefits far outweigh some of these inconveniences, in my book.

For example, I got great lodging rate at a hostel in Iceland when I stayed for six weeks in 2012. There aren't too many tourists flocking to Iceland during in January so they were happy to have this American writer staying with them. In Cairo, I visited the great pyramids in late May and had a tour guide all to myself. If I had waited a month or two, the place would have been swarming with tourists trying to get the perfect photo.

Go ahead and enjoy these pages with photos and stories of my travels as diverse as a blizzard in Iceland, a safari at Kruger National Park in South Africa, city living in the south of France and riding a camel in Cairo, Egypt.

'Don't wait to be deprived of news to stand up and fight for it.' - Reporters Without Borders